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New restrictions on shellfish gathering across Auckland and the Coromandel have been welcomed as a major step towards protecting marine life, although they fall short of the complete ban sought by local campaigners.
Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones announced the new rules on October 8, effective from November 1, prohibiting recreational harvesting of a wide range of marine species from rocky shores and intertidal areas.
However, for Whangaparāoa, the stricter two-year harvesting ban introduced in March will remain in place. This means the new regional rules will not allow people to resume gathering shellfish from local beaches.
Under the new regional rules, the protected intertidal zone extends from the high-water mark to where the water is two metres deep, covering mainland Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and Waiheke Island.
Species protected from harvesting include cat’s eyes, limpets, chitons, periwinkles, starfish, sea anemones and mussels.
Gathering some species, including kina, cockles, pipi, crabs, pāua and oysters, will still be permitted within specified daily limits in areas where no stricter local closure applies, such as the Whangaparāoa ban.
The changes also reduce the general daily limit for shellfish without their own limits from 50 to 10 per person outside the intertidal zone. The green-lipped mussel limit will fall from 25 to 10, although gathering mussels within the intertidal zone will be prohibited altogether.
Hibiscus and Bays Local Board chair Alexis Poppelbaum, who has campaigned for greater protection of coastal marine life, welcomed the announcement.
“This is a big win for our rockpools and a credit to the community. People in Hibiscus and Bays and across Auckland told Fisheries NZ the old limits weren’t working, and the Minister has listened,” she says.
“The changes announced send a clear message that these reefs can’t keep being stripped bare.”
However, Poppelbaum says the local board had pushed for a complete ban on gathering all species from the intertidal zone.
“The changes announced aren’t what we sought and campaigned for but this announcement is certainly an important step forward for recovery of our intertidal species.”
She says enforcement will be critical.
“Rules only work if they’re enforced, so we’ll keep pushing for proper compliance resourcing.”
In his decision letter, Jones acknowledged that most submissions supported a blanket prohibition on intertidal harvesting, but said allowing limited gathering of certain species provides a more targeted approach.
He also acknowledged evidence of declining populations of species including cat’s eyes and green-lipped mussels at some Auckland sites. However, he said the causes remained uncertain and were likely to reflect multiple environmental pressures, not harvesting alone.
Fisheries NZ says people should check local regulations before gathering shellfish, as stricter area-specific closures will continue to apply. For details search: fisheries.govt.nz – recreational fishing rules.
